1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information storage device, an information processing system, and a setting method of a data transfer mode of an information processing device.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, as personal computers have become widespread, portable information storage devices that can be removably connected to the personal computers (e.g., USB (Universal Serial Bus) memories and the likes) have also become widely available.
The processing speed of nonvolatile memories, which are embedded in the above-mentioned information storage devices (hereinafter also called “removal disks”), is slow in comparison to that of personal computers. Therefore, data transfer from a personal computer to a removal disk is carried out in such a manner that data is firstly stored in the cache memory (data storing area) of the personal computer for a certain time period, and then actually transferred at proper timing (hereinafter, this process is also called “delay writing”).
When a personal computer performs the delay writing, it is necessary to carry out a removal operation (unmounting process) for the removable disk in the OS (Operating System) of the personal computer prior to the actual removal, so that the removable disk is securely removed from the personal computer. If the removable disk is removed from a personal computer at arbitrary timing, it could cause data corruption or a similar harmful effect.
Note that it is also possible to have such a setting on the OS of a personal computer that the above-described delay writing is not carried out. In such a case, the possibility of the data corruption or the like is reduced even if the removable disk is removed from the personal computer at arbitrary timing. However, the processing speed can be set to a higher value, when the personal computer carries out the delay writing.
Although the way of handling and the characteristics of a removal disk are changed depending on the setting of the delay writing as described above, the delay writing is not widely recognized among the users in the first place. Similarly, the way of setting the enabling/disabling of the delay writing is also not widely recognized among the users in the first place.
Incidentally, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-4251 discloses a technique that enables a user to easily carry out an unmounting process with simple manipulation by providing a button for removal in an external storage device.